A day at the seaside is a fine English tradition, and with an increasing number open to dogs, we’ve rounded up six of our favourites

A recent survey by Blue Cross found that this year more of us are holidaying at home to enjoy the fine weather and time with our pets. Andwhat could be better than spending a summer’s day with your dog on a wide open beach? So, pack your things and head to the coast as we round-up our favourite dog-friendly beaches and the places to stay nearby.

Highbullen Hotel, Golf and Country Club, one of those sprawling, luxurious estates that dot the North Devon countryside, is about to “get tails wagging” with a package for dog owners.

The “Highbullen Hounds” package is available now and will apparently “pamper the pooch as much as the owner”. For £299 for two nights with two people and one dog (extra dogs are £25), sharing one of the hotel’s four dog-friendly rooms, you and the hound get a whole bunch of luscious treats, including a two-course doggy dinner (chicken casserole followed by sirloin steak with vegetables and jus… yes, there is jus on the dog’s menu).

If there’s two things the team at Hudson’s Choice agree we all love (in fact there’s loads, but let’s not allow the facts to ruin a good drop intro) they are dogs and magazines.

No wonder we got so excited when we heard about Australian designer Marta Roca’s Four&Sons project. It’s the perfect blend of high-design magazine craft and what she calls dog-centricity. Whether that’s an elision of dog and eccentrics or means all things dog-centred isn’t clear. Most likely it’s a bit of both, either way it’s already got us scrambling for the “subscribe here” button.

At this relaxing Cornish retreat a love of the environment comes with an equal love of great design, as Simon Hertson discovers

Built by three sisters with a family heritage in hotels (they also own the child-friendly Bedruthen Steps up the road), the Scarlet pulls off a great trick of being as conscious of the environment as it is of good design. But it has something even more special and that’s the ability to make guests feel relaxed instantly on arrival.

There’s always a process of decompression after the inevitably fraught Friday evening rush to get away. This just seems to happen more quickly and easily at the Scarlet. The staff seemed tuned in to our needs, were lovely to the dog and we are all soon settled into the calm, relaxed, unflappable swing of things. The quality of drinks served on the huge terrace within no time helped.

Slap in the middle of some of the greatest countryside in England, midway between the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District, Hipping Hall is a stylish, county house retreat for the weary traveller and their dog, as Richard Cree found out

Hipping Hall has been offering sustenance to travellers since the 15th century at least. Perfectly placed on the cross-Pennine road, it welcomed traders from the west coast across to Yorskshire’s major cities. The name comes from the Hipping (or stepping) stones that allowed people to cross Broken Beck, the stream that runs past the front of the hotel. With a heritage dating back so far back to an early travellers’ inn ( parts of the original building are still in use today), Hipping Hall nevertheless manages to wear its heritage lightly.